The Irregular at Magic High School: Episode 11–13 Review

I swear, this series is a serious roller coaster. I’ve gone from confusion to utter boredom to annoyance to mild interest twice now in full cycles. I won’t say things are spectacular, but the series is waaaaaay better than it was at the end of episode ten. Why, you ask? Well, we’ve finally advanced to the beginning of the Nine Schools Competition after three episodes of painfully boring filler. With the start of the competition, drama unfolds.

The tournament starts out well enough for the First Magic High School competitors, who secure an early lead. Meanwhile, Tatsuya is hard at work helping his friends stay in top-notch shape during the competition, as well as working on a new side project. As the tournament progresses, one of the girls is injured in what I can best describe as magic water-surf-racing accident. (She was on a surfboard, racing other competitors…that’s the best I can come up with.) Tatsuya reveals through his unreal sense of magical observations that there was foul play, which places the entire First Magic High School on alert.

It turns out that there’s a group of men betting on winners, who are eager to interfere for the sake of maximum profits. Unfortunately, First Magic High School is the primary target of the sabotage. To protect the students, Tatsuya begins to take more shifts as magic engineer. Furthermore, he continues to keep the equipment used by the team top-notch and at the leading edge of magical technology. This draws unwanted attention from his senior classmates, who are frustrated that a lowly Weed is doing so much to ensure victory.

I won’t say this anime has improved for the long term, since the last time I did, it took a head-first fall toward terrible. However, I will admit that the competition is somewhat enjoyable. I stayed awake during the episodes, and I’m curious to see how it all ends. May the odds be ever in Irregular Magic High‘s favor!